Man gets 8 years jail for kidnapping his wife

A man claimed that he did nothing wrong holding his wife for many hours against her will.

A Brooklyn Park man who was charged with kidnapping and threatening his wife, after taking her for a ride for hours while trying to get the attention of passersby, has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

The prosecutor said during the sentencing hearing that Chia Vang said in an interview prior to sentencing that the victim was "just my wife", and otherwise minimized his criminal conduct.

Vang also said the woman "cried only half of the time" was driving with her and her 2 year old son around Twin Cities during incident, Ramsey County prosecutor Maggie Samec said. A passing driver saw the woman as she yelled: "Help me." The driver wrote down the license plate number and called police.

Vang, 27, was convicted of kidnapping and making terroristic threats against his wife. In the ruling Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court, Judge Gary Bastian gave him credit for 127 days he already served in jail and told him to register as a predatory offender.

Vang’s attorney, David Paulzine, argued that the woman was never injured during the incident. "His actions that day, was very wrong, however they were an attempt to reconcile the marriage," Paulzine said. He asked the judge for a sentence of four to five years.
The State sought nearly 10 years. The judge sentenced him to eight years in prison.